Mold in dresser?!?!
 

I got a dresser (for free) in french style that is quite neat. However it
smells like mold! I have located some small moist/water stains but no
misscoloration. The stains are located at the far end of the drawer on the
lower edge and they are about 1-2" (pull the drawer out turn towards you
underside edge towareds back). It seems like this part of the drawers
("the back") are made by some kind of pressed wood (uncoated) and it is a
little soggy were the stains are. The other parts of the dresser is made
of wood, hard to say how good quality but it looks ok. I think it has some
finish on it but it is hard to say. I was planning to cleaning it with
bleach/water 50/50, sand it slightly and then paint the drawers with a
sealer/primer to keep the mold/stains away and to get rid of the smell. I
wanted to know if this is a good idea or if I should just throw it away. I
have though about replacing the pressed wood parts but I think that is
quite a lot of work on 7 drawers especially if you are a happy amatour
with no really great tools to work with and no money to spend. I
appreciate any inout. Thanks

15% Clorox beach to water is all you need, don't go with a stonger mix.
Rinse with water when done. Let dry and refinish.

--

Rumpty

Radial Arm Saw Forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/woodbutcher/start

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"Perek75" wrote in message
lkaboutcrafting.com...
I got a dresser (for free) in french style that is quite neat. However it
smells like mold! I have located some small moist/water stains but no
misscoloration. The stains are located at the far end of the drawer on the
lower edge and they are about 1-2" (pull the drawer out turn towards you
underside edge towareds back). It seems like this part of the drawers
("the back") are made by some kind of pressed wood (uncoated) and it is a
little soggy were the stains are. The other parts of the dresser is made
of wood, hard to say how good quality but it looks ok. I think it has some
finish on it but it is hard to say. I was planning to cleaning it with
bleach/water 50/50, sand it slightly and then paint the drawers with a
sealer/primer to keep the mold/stains away and to get rid of the smell. I
wanted to know if this is a good idea or if I should just throw it away. I
have though about replacing the pressed wood parts but I think that is
quite a lot of work on 7 drawers especially if you are a happy amatour
with no really great tools to work with and no money to spend. I
appreciate any inout. Thanks

"Perek75" wrote in message
lkaboutcrafting.com...
I got a dresser (for free) in french style that is quite neat. However it
smells like mold!

Once a while ago, someone was "helping" put groceries away, and put a bag of
potatoes in a kitchen drawer that we would normally never use for that
purpose.

The potatoes went bad and we couldn't guess where it was coming from as the
smell seemed to be everywhere. No one thought to look where the potatoes had
ended up.

Once we found the mess and cleaned it up, we found that there was a nasty
stain and odor in the wood. Luckily, the drawer was all solid wood and good
old plywood. I scraped and then refinished with poly, and that took care of
the stench, but there is still a black stain on the inside. Oh well. At
least the stain is on the inside.

James

J & K Tomalonis wrote:

....
...there is still a black stain on the inside. ...

If you're ever interested, oxalic acid will probably remove most of the
stain...

"Perek75" writes:

I got a dresser (for free) in french style that is quite neat. However it
smells like mold!

Get the piece out of your living space, even outside if necessary, then
place an ozone generator next to it.

Next completely tent and seal with sheet plastic, same as if you were
going to fumigate a house for termites, then turn on ozone generator for
24-48 hours.

Mold and smell will be gone.

CAUTION! ! ! !

Ozone will destroy any rubber parts so act accordlg.

Ozone is also injurious to your health so also act accordingly.

Lew

In article outcrafting.com,
Perek75 wrote:
I got a dresser (for free) in french style that is quite neat. However it
smells like mold! I have located some small moist/water stains but no
misscoloration. The stains are located at the far end of the drawer on the
lower edge and they are about 1-2" (pull the drawer out turn towards you
underside edge towareds back). It seems like this part of the drawers
("the back") are made by some kind of pressed wood (uncoated) and it is a
little soggy were the stains are. The other parts of the dresser is made
of wood, hard to say how good quality but it looks ok. I think it has some
finish on it but it is hard to say. I was planning to cleaning it with
bleach/water 50/50, sand it slightly and then paint the drawers with a
sealer/primer to keep the mold/stains away and to get rid of the smell. I
wanted to know if this is a good idea or if I should just throw it away. I
have though about replacing the pressed wood parts but I think that is
quite a lot of work on 7 drawers especially if you are a happy amatour
with no really great tools to work with and no money to spend. I
appreciate any inout. Thanks


Exposure to bright sunlight for a couple of days will make a big difference.

A circa 15% bleach / 85% water solution, will kill what the sunlight doesn't.
just enough to 'dampen' things, let sit for no more than a couple of minutes,
and blot dry. Complete the process with another dose of sunlight.

'Pressed wood" is problematic. if it's gotten wet enough that it has
swollen up, it's pretty much ruined. If it hasn't swelled, then it's
probably OK "as is".

Thank you all for oyur replies. I am planing to start next weekend so we
will se how it goes. Hope the sun is out!